The Cosmo Chronicles (continued)

I had noticed the previous "The Cosmo Chronicles" thread had 51 posts so I closed it. MY postings regarding our progress with our newest family member will be continued in this new thread.

Watch for future pics and postings in "The Cosmo Chronicles (continued)".

Bob

Cosmo continues to progress and, for all intents and purposes, he seems to know enough to do his "business" outside. He is fast approaching the ten pound mark. Usually a Coton only weighs around 15 pounds at maturity.

We changed his sleeping arrangement a little. Instead of keeping him in his crate right next to the bed at night, we now leave the crate's door open and he can walk freely back and forth from the bed to the crate. He seems to like the set up and still sleeps through the night without disturbing Lorna and I.

He is turning into somewhat of a watch dog and barks loudly anytime he hears someone at our dog. Once that person is in the house Cosmo greets them with a wagging tail. He favors women over men when he first meets them but quickly warms up to men once they sit down and don't appear to be any kind of a threat. He absolutely loves children not matter whether they are a girl or a boy.

He's a great little guy and we are looking forward to perhaps fetching him a new brother or sister next Spring!

Bob

Aren't they wonderful little creatures? Mila (mee-la), my Lhasa Apso, has always loved her crates. She had a small one when she was a baby and then I bought her a bigger one when she got older and bigger. She changes her day sleeping place all the time - sometimes in the dining room in the small crate, sometimes to the cool hardwood floor, or into the big crate in the living room (I never have bothered with doors on crates). Before her arthritis started bothering her so much (she's 11 now), she would also get on the couch. At night, she sleeps in the big crate until she knows I am sound asleep -between 2:15 and 2:45 - at which time, she pushes my bedroom door open with a bang and waits for me to get up and put her on the bed with me.

I adopted Buffy in July (10 yr. old Shih Tzu). Since she is a rescued dog, her foster mother gave me her bed so she would have some security. Buffy loved the crate I bought for her - for about two weeks. Then, she decided she liked Mila's small crate. Most of the time she prefers her bed, so I carry it to whichever room I'm in. Mila should weigh no more than about 17 pounds but she has had a bad problem with weight. She went all the way up to 23 lbs. but weighed in at 19 on Monday - yea! We struggled for several years to accomplish that. Buffy weighed only around 10 lbs in July but, happily, is up to 14 now and holding her own. We've gone through some big adjustments the last four months; Mila now tolerates Buffy and Buffy - well, I just have to watch for the twitching upper lip. At least she doesn't try to fight Mila like she did in the beginning. Poor Mila was scared to death of her. Buffy is very sweet, though, and has shed her "streetwise" ways easily and quickly.

The face...



Cosmo was sitting on Lorna's lap while she was making out some checks at the kitchen counter. This innocent face also managed to chew one corner off a check while Lorna wasn't looking. The innocent looking face was probably saying, "Who me?"

Bob

Too precious for words! He is really adorable!

I had to show Cosmo to Justine my youngest daughter. She agrees that he is incredibly precious. We just came back from celebrating my twins' 30th birthday. Justine and Ben, my only son, are twins.

One of our CF members, who shall remain nameless unless she wants to reveal who she is, has sent me a couple of emails about adding a Coton to her family next Spring. I asked her for pics of the parents since the pups won't be born until January. I have to say that the parents of her new pup-to-be are two really cute Cotons.

From my limited experience with this breed of Coton de Tulears, I must say what wonderful dogs they are. I have been exposed to nine of them so far and they have all been wonderful dogs. The most important traits are being friendly, smart, extreme enjoyable to be with, great with kids, and darn right good looking.

I will say our Cosmo is getting to be quite the watch dog. His high-pitched "yap" is more of a bark already, and he warns us if anyone comes to our door or walks on to our property if the dog happens to be looking out the window. Once the people enter the house he greets them with a wagging tail. I guess he would be a watch dog yes, but a guard dog no.

No regrets here for getting an immediate replacement for our beloved Chipper. I can't wait until spring when I think we will add a little brother or sister for Cosmo.

Bob

Bob...

All I can say is...when you box Cosmo up to mail him to me, make certain that he is well protected in foam peanuts. I'll be waiting by the mailbox, so use Priority mail.

Danny

... and don't forget the air holes so the poor thing can breathe ...
But make sure the parcel comes our way :p
Seriously ... he is so cute... and we can't wait to see what his "spring companion" will be like!!

And please keep posting pictures as Cosmo grows. We love to hear about his antics, too!

Lorna and I hosted a dinner party for 14 last night, all family. It gave us a chance to try our the new Eastern Butcher Block dining room table with has four leaves and extends out to 120". We purposely bought the large table to avoid having to set up a card table in another room. This way, the whole family can eat together.

The reason I mention this in the Cosmo Chronicle topic is the dogs reaction to so many people at once. He greeted each person at the door with his "ferocious bark" which was then reduced to a tail wag once they entered the house. He stills prefer women and kids to men, but quickly warmed up to everybody once they were in the house and seated.

The best part was when we all sat down for dinner. Cosmo walked right over to his crate and just laid down. We leave the crate door open and he didn't bother to come out until people got up from the table after dinner. What a good boy!!!

Bob

Sorry Bob, my invite must have been lost in the mail. But Cosmo was a 'very good boy'!

BTW - is 'Cosmo' the name on his registration papers? Or does he have some much longer more formal name?

Wow, well done little Cosmo! Mischka is 7 1/2 and still has not quite "got that"

She marches straight UNDER the table and sits at Stan's feet. "nobody can see me begging here and Stan is the big softy" ... and so long as Stan is the big softy she will do that. But at least she does not bother anyone else. And she is VERY quiet und there. She knows I'd evict her if she made a noise.

Attaboy, Cosmo! It's amazing how quickly they catch on. Even if you don't train him for a particular command or whatever, he knows that certain behaviours are expected and will comply. They are such smart little babies.

Cosmo is the official name our little furry son is registered under.

Lorna and I often eat our meals at the counter/snack bar we incorporated in the design of our new kitchen. Cosmo will lay right under the bar stools we sit on until we are done. He doesn't beg at all but is very interested in what's left on the counter after we finish.

So far we have avoided the temptation of feeding him any people food. This was the recommendation of the breeder. She advised a little piece of cheese as a reward but don't give him anything else in the line of people food. We buy that Polly-O string cheese and cut a little piece off as a reward for the boy.

Bob

The first time I let my grandson eat on the couch, he immediately started to protect his plate - Mila was sitting between us. He couldn't believe that she proceeded to lie down and totally ignore us. I thoroughly believe as you do that it's the people food that makes the difference. If they are not used to it, they will not beg for it. However, Mila does go crazy when she hears popcorn popping in the microwave. She loves it!

The full moon is taking it's toll on Cosmo tonight. He has turned into "lunatic puppy". His actions are somewhat out of character from his usual behavior. My former fuzzy son use to act differently but that usually occured a day or two before the full moon.

Have any of you experienced similar behavior from your pets around full moon time?

Bob

As long as I had only one dog, I never noticed anything. Now that I have two, Buffy, my Shih Tzu will start howling for no reason at all; then, of course, Mila will join. They started again last night and are doing it tonight. It can be rather spooky since I am unable to hear anything out of the ordinary - and my hearing is pretty good.

I looked out the window at 0500 hours this morning, and saw the snow flurries coming down and there was a slight dusting of snow covering my deck. Not being a snow fan, I felt this was just the beginning of what winter brings us here in the northeast. In other words, "YUK!"

Then I watched Cosmo step outside on to the deck to see snow for the first time. He seem a little confused at first as he licked at the white stuff he had never seen before.

I took the broom out and swept a path across the deck and down the stairs to prevent any icy spots from forming. While I was out at the wood pile fetching some fuel for my wood stove, I noticed Cosmo's fascination with the ever-so-small little piles of snow from my sweeping. He was still sniffing, licking, and probing the snow with his paws.

Often times we take little things for granted. Cosmo is just a dog but he is still a member of our family. It made me think of those days gone by when my kids saw snow for the first time. Then there were my grandkids, all three of them.

Snow is a necessary thing up here and as much as I dislike it, it has its purpose in wonderment of memories new and old.

Bob

Snow sure helps get my 4 year old daughter Maggie out of bed in the morning. We had about an 1 1/2' on the ground this morning and all I had to do is walk into her room, open the shade and say "wow, look at that snow" and she sprang out of bed like a rocket. Immediatly went and woke up Patti and wanted to go out and play in it. And this was at 6:45 in the morning. Normally I've got to get her out of bed with a crow bar! Me on the other hand, just had to drive to work in it and although I do like a little snow around the Thanksgiving and Christmas, I know that it's just a harbinger of things to come when winter drags out into March.

Mike

Aren't kids great?! As I said in another thread, a little snow for Thanksgiving sounds great but I wouldn't want the rest of your winter. We have a predicted high of 84 degrees for Thanksgiving - yuk!

Bob, your post reminded me of my first Lhasa Apso. We've actually had two or three good snowfalls in Houston - in about as many decades! Anyway, after one of those snowfalls, the little guy ran outside and went crazy! He kept digging his nose in the snow and throwing it up in the air over and over, kept running around in circles and just had a great time. He was so excited; you'd think he was back in his ancestral home of Tibet.

My Lhasa also loved the snow as did my my Jack Russell Terrier. The only unfortunate part was all those little balls of snow that clung to their coats. What a wet mess that would make!

Cosmo's coat is growing and so far he hasn't matted at all. His time in the snow will be very limited because of his origin in Madagascar. Cold temperatures for prolonged periods of time are not good for this breed. Most of his time will be in the house until the temperatures warm up again. The same applies to Lorna and I (lol)!

Bob

Gee, Bob, I ddn't know you were from Madagascar. I thought you were native to Mass. . . .

Mischka also loves snow. I will never forget the first "real" snow experience... she was about a year old and we had had about 4 inches of snow overnight. This means in this country: "Everything stops" - espacially the transport. So we were all allone on the field where we took our German Shepherd and Mischka for their run. Mischka's little legs were only just long enough to lift her above the snow and she went crazy... she ran around in circles, barked like mad and generally had a great time. It was very confusing though that the balls we threw for her desintegrated when she caught them ...
She had a real hard time with that one.

Another first for Cosmo this morning. We were out in the back yard when Cosmo spotted a rabbit for the first time. Needless to say the chase was on.

We have numerous rabbits in the yard due to the fact it is fenced in and the rabbits figure their predators can't get in. My Jack Russell Terrier had gotten so use to the rabbits that he just left them alone, if they didn't move.

Cosmo apparently thought that the rabbit was willing to be a playmate but the rabbit had other ideas. The chase went in and out of the bushes and ornamental grasses with Cosmo close to the rabbits tail. The rabbit was a little more elusive and managed to slip through a very small space in one of the gates. I'm sure the rabbit was thinking, "What the heck happend to the other dog!"

Cosmo was really excited and probably can't wait for his next challenging sprint with a bunny.

Bob

Had to laugh... Good for Cosmo ... having fun is a puppy's job!

How does he feel about cats?

Mischka initially thought cats were playmates until next door's cat taught her what cats are really for: to be barked at and chased off the premises!
Mischka thought she did not deserve the hiss and slap round the face, when she just went up to the cat to sniff and play! So now she takes the insult out on all cats of the neighbourhood

Both really cute stories about the innocence of young pups. Cats don't dare cross through my backyard, but the squirrels feel it's their playground. Before I had Buffy, the squirrels loved to tease Mila. When she came out of the house and into the yard, they would scamper to the nearest tree and fence. Then, they would sit and chatter at her and tease her by running back and forth on the fence. She has had an encounter or two with possums - they stand their ground and she has to back off because they are always ready for a fight. This, of course, happens if she goes out at night or early in the morning. I usually watch her closely at those times; the possums are bigger than she is and would dispose of her in the blink of an eye. Haven't seen any in a while and the squirrels are still reassessing the situation since Buffy arrived on the scene.

This year Lorna, myself, and Cosmo took a vote for what we would send out for Christmas cards. Lorna and I voted to put Cosmo on the card. Cosmo abstained from voting.

Here are the two different cards we are sending out:






It was a little difficult to get Cosmo to hold still, but as you can see, he finally did.

Bob

Precious, adorable - just not enough words to describe such a cutie!

What a love ... He looks soooooo cute!
Is he smiling Christmas Cheer to everyone? I think so!!!
CUTE!!!

He is absolutely gorgeous Bob! That is a very cute card. Everyone will love it.

Cathy

SOOOOO CUTE

How does Cosmo like the Christmas Tree?

Mischka thinks she knows about one parcel already ... she keeps sniffing round one particular present under the tree. And she is right... it is hers.... or it will be on Saturday night... She loves fury things like sheepskin squeeky toys. And so she is getting another one and she seems to know....
Wonder if dogs think: "Can't wait ... "

Funny you should ask about how Cosmo feels about our Christmas tree. He loves to lay under it on the skirt. We didn't put the presents under the tree since we were afraid Cosmo might nibble at the wrapping paper and bows.

We have a lovely gold-ribbon garland hanging vertically on the tree. It seems Cosmo likes to nibble on the ends of it. I even noticed a little gold thread as I was shoveling up the "you-know-what" in the backyard. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that he hasn't chewed on any furniture or the like in our house.

He is a good boy and extremely loveable!

Bob

So, he makes sure his little presents in the yard at least LOOK festive .... very considerate dog!

Keep him busy with the chew toys and he won't nibble on the furniture. Do watch him on the garland, tinsel, etc. Don't want that cutie to poison himself. I love the Christmas avatar!

Cosmo is quickly maturing. He is swiftly approaching his adult size and is probably within a couple of pounds of that point in his life. He is in his seventh month, and if my memory serves me correctly, the breeder told us he would probably be full grown around nine months.

Lorna and I were both amazed by the fact he hasn't deveoped any mats in his hair (this breed has hair and not fur). Lorna combs him out about once a week and hasn't had to cut out any mats yet. Another somewhat amazing thing is Cosmo doesn't have a "doggy" smell to him. His coat remains extremely soft to the touch like cotton balls. We do expect his coat to become more coarse with age.

I have assigned Cosmo a new moniker. I usually refer to him as "Mister Mo" when I want to get his attention. He loves to steal Lorna's shoes and spreads them all over the house. He doesn't chew them up or damage them but he sure likes to run around the house with them.

Needless to say, he is very much a part of our daily routine and most importantly as a member of the family. He remains very loveable but he is becoming more demanding when our attention is on other things. He loves to be picked up and performs very well as a lap dog. He's a rocket when he's outside. Like the breeder advised us, don't let him loose or you will never be able to catch him until he wants to be caught. He races from one end of the yard (yes, it's all fenced in) to the other end. He'll disappear behind the bushes then suddenly burst through the ornamental grass. He is forever keeping us smiling and laughing. He is a pure joy in every sense of the word.

Bob

They most definitely give us pure joy. They are precious creatures with nothing but love in their hearts. When you see a mean or temperamental dog, look to the human who caused him to become that way or sorely neglected it. Mister Mo gives the rest of us a lot of pleasure, too, so do continue sharing his stories. My Lhasa mats terribly but my Shih Tzu is much easier to groom. Neither had a doggie odor nor bad breath. Mila, my Lhasa has developed a fishy breath now because I switched her to a fish based diet - I hate it but it has helped her skin allergies a whole lot.

Cosmo, aka "Mr. Mo", is growing up. Here are a couple of pics showing how he has more of an adult dog face and is getting quite "hairy".






According to the breeder, Mr. Mo is near full size and will develop more muscle in the next couple of months as he approaches his actual adult size.

He is definitely an "alarm dog" as the breeder describes. Coton de Tulears have sensitive hearing and will definitely let you know when there is someone approaching the house. They are classified as "alarm dogs" and not watch dogs because they are not really an aggressive animal.

His coat is still very soft with no mats but I guess the adult hair starts to come in around nine months and that's when mats may develop in the collar area and where his legs meet his torso.

He remains very loveable, playful, but will also just sit in your lap when the time comes. Needless to say, Lorna and I are very pleased we chose this breed not really knowing what they were like until after we got him.

Bob

Mr. Mo is a very handsome young pooch!

I love the expression "alarm dog" fits our Mischka too. She thinkgs she is responsible for hearing and telling what happens in our plot and the ones either side next door.

She is knotting a little ... round the ears and at the point where her tail meets the body ... but not too bad. And since she has hair not fur, like Cosmo, he may not be too bad either.
It is astonishing how soft her coat is and remains!

The little Asian breeds like my Lhasa Apso seem to fall into the "alarm" dogs category. The little "lions of Tibet" sounded the alarm in the monasteries and the mastiffs would go after any intruders. Mr. Mo is becoming a very handsome young guy!!

PLAYTIME!!! Who's next? Just try and grab this rope and your new nickname will be "Stubby"!




Bob

Mr. Mo is s-o-o-o cute!! I'll bet he won't allow you anywhere near his toy.

Actually, quite the opposite. If you don't pay attention to his efforts to get you to play, he will keep poking you with whatever toy he has to get your attention.

Bob

Congratulations to Mr. Mo and all Coton de Tulears.

They are one of the "New Breeds" at Crufts (biggests dog show on earth) this year!

So maybe next year there could be a Coton as best in show?
Well Mr. Mo, how about it?

There was an American Best in show this year:
the Autstralien Shepherd called Chance from California
Australian Shepherd wins Crufts

I'm rooting for Mr. Mo!! Are you up for it, Bob?

Cosmo is getting to the point where he will be going for his first haircut.



I took him to the Vets for a check up and Lime Disease shot, and he weighed in at 13.8 pounds. What a big boy!

Bob

He's so cute! Great pictures. Thanks for sharing Cosmo's progress.
HCS

He is really beautiful, Bob. I always enjoy seeing how he is coming along. Keep the pictures coming - would love to see him after the visit to the groomer!